Vehicle cup holders with integrated ambient lighting systems often provide a fixed amount of ambient light as provided by a light source generally disposed at the bottom of the cup holder or on a sidewall of the cup holder. These lighting features have particular drawbacks when an object is placed in the cup holder. For instance, a solid non-transparent object will generally block a light source disposed at the bottom of the cup holder, and can also block a light source disposed in a sidewall of the cup holder. Further, a transparent object can affect the amount of ambient light produced by a light source when a transparent object is placed in a cup holder. Objects having a reflective surface can also affect the amount of ambient light produced by a cup holder when housed therein. Thus, a cup holder that provides a consistent amount of light is desired regardless of the object housed in the cup holder.
Further, cup holders having a temperature control system have been used in the automotive market, however, the heating or cooling of a beverage container placed in a cup holder is generally provided by a user input on a switch used for controlling the temperature control system. A cup holder that provides an automatic heating or cooling of a beverage container placed in a cup holder well is desired, such that the contents of the beverage container can be maintained at a proper state without user interaction. Further, the automatic temperature control system can be used in conjunction with the ambient lighting system, such that the user can readily ascertain the present mode of the cup holder by various color schemes and light intensities of the ambient lighting system.